Dalton Schultz: Fantasy Football's Least Interesting TE1

Tight end is perhaps the most challenging position to get right in fantasy football. Seemingly every year, we delude ourselves into believing a certain young player will break out and become an elite tight end. Sometimes, it works—guys like Mark Andrews and Darren Waller were fantasy league winners in their breakout years. However, more often than not, these players fail to deliver on their hype. So, in this article, I’m going to be advocating for the boring, but valuable option: Texans tight end Dalton Schultz, who is currently being drafted as the TE13 according to Underdog ADP.

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Career In Review

After spending the first five years of his career with the Cowboys, Schultz signed a 1-year contract worth up to $9 million this past spring with the Texans. Over the last few seasons, Schultz has established himself as one of the better tight ends in fantasy football. He has finished top 10 at the position in each of the last two years, including an overall TE3 finish in 2021.

Schultz’s best quality as a tight end is his pass-catching. He became Dak Prescott’s safety blanket and chain mover in Dallas and ranks fourth among tight ends in targets since 2020 (behind Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, and T.J. Hockenson). Schultz isn’t that much of a big-play threat—he averaged just 1.5 yards per route run last year, which was 14th among tight ends—but has proven to be more than just a tight-end streamer thanks to the volume he has received.

Schultz in the Texans’ Offense

Schultz does not have too much in the way of target competition in Houston. The Texans did sign veteran receiver Robert Woods in free agency, but at this point in his career, he is not much more than a short-yardage option. Third-year wideout Nico Collins has some breakout potential and could assert himself as a top receiving threat, but Schultz is currently the far more proven player.

While Schultz will certainly get volume with the Texans, the quality of his targets will be worse than what he saw in Dallas. After being selected with the second pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, rookie C.J. Stroud projects to be the Texans' starting QB this season. Stroud, whose playstyle has ironically drawn comparisons to Dak Prescott, is a talented prospect but will likely go through the typical growing pains that rookie QBs experience, so it is uncertain how consistent the Texans' offense will be in general. As a result, Schultz will most likely see fewer scoring opportunities with the Texans unless Stroud takes the NFL by storm. This will further inhibit Schultz’s ceiling, who ranked fifth among tight ends in touchdown receptions in the last three years as part of a great offense in Dallas.

Assessing Schultz’s Floor and Ceiling

Schultz will continue to be a high-floor, low-ceiling fantasy option with the Texans. Any time a tight end can be the top receiving threat on their team, it is valuable in fantasy just because the tight end position is such a wasteland. Of the eight tight ends to lead their team in targets in a season since 2020, seven finished top-10 at the position. Schultz is obviously not going to produce of the same caliber as someone like Travis Kelce or Mark Andrews, but it is nice to see that he has a built-in floor, a luxury that not all tight ends can afford.

The Texans' offense will not be good enough for Schultz to finish in the top three at the position, but he will nonetheless see enough volume to be a value at his ADP of TE13. Schultz is currently being drafted near unproven guys like Chigoziem Okonkwo, Greg Dulcich, and Dalton Kincaid. Although all three of those players have higher ceilings than Schultz, the chances that they actually live up to their potential are rather low. Schultz is the perfect low-risk fantasy pick if you want to avoid the hassle of dealing with tight end streaming this season without taking one too early in your draft.

The Bottom Line

• Schultz is a solid tight end who has already produced in fantasy with the Cowboys.
• He is a very good pass-catcher and makes his money off of volume. With this being said, he is not much of a big-play or red-zone threat.
• In the Texans offense, Schultz will have the opportunity to lead the team in targets and be the No. 1 option. So, while the Texans might struggle a little if C.J. Stroud cannot adjust to the NFL, Schultz still has a high fantasy floor as he will face little competition for targets.
• Schultz is a value at his ADP of TE13. He might not win you your week, but will be a reliable option and can offer some consistency in an otherwise terrible landscape to navigate. He should once again finish as a TE1 this year.